Money has matched its promise to fund Barrie’s landmark sign.
Coun. Mike McCann says he has raised the first $150,000 of the $200,000 needed to finance the sign, which is to go in Heritage Park next summer.
“It’s a passion project of mine,” said the Ward 10 councillor. “I’m just glad that other people made it a passion project of their own and there’s a lot of excitement, a lot of interest and I’m looking forward to see how this betters our community.”
McCann said last June he would raise the money needed to build his Love Barrie sign by Oct. 10. The last $50,000 must be raised by March 31, 2022.
He said he had the $150,000 by 10 a.m., Sunday.
McCann said the sign is about connections — to the waterfront, to the land, to people, business and family.
“It’s inspiration, and that inspiration I hope will trigger some creativity and, most importantly, it’s about having fun,” he said. “Come down there, have some fun and I hope some of that fun spills into the downtown core, where it stimulates some economic activity for our businesses.”
The landmark sign fundraising campaign began Canada Day and McCann said this project is intended to unite Barrie — to help businesses by driving residents and visitors to the downtown and have them celebrate the city by being photographed with the landmark sign.
McCann says he is meeting with city treasurer Craig Millar at 10 a.m. on Thursday to give him the $150,000.
The remainder will come through the sale of clothing and apparel, McCann said.
“I did have an organization that wanted to pay for the whole thing, but that’s not what I wanted,” he said. “I wanted this to be a community process, and I’m planning on selling Barrie hats, Barrie T-shirts, to raise the next $50,000.
“I’d like to get as many people involved as possible, so I’m going to be campaigning for the next $50,000 probably starting in November, to raise money, raise awareness and people can purchase hats and T-shirts.”
Once the city has the $150,000, a request for proposals (RFP) will be issued so businesses can bid on the job. Once a manufacturer is chosen, a committee — which includes McCann — will determine the sign’s design. It is to include a heart and ‘Barrie’.
To make the sign unique, it could be wrapped with public art to create a unique sign reflecting the community. This would provide a way for the landmark sign to showcase the uniqueness of Barrie and help to draw people back to the sign for multiple visits.
The estimated timeline for the project is that it would take roughly four months from design to installation, be constructed from steel and aluminum and have a coating applied to assist with graffiti removal. It would be lit with LED lights, which would require little power and have minimal energy costs.
City council gave final approval to the Heritage Park project June 14 for the landmark sign, which must be no more than eight feet tall and installed by July 1, 2022 and on condition McCann raise all of the funding.
Any funds raised on top of the $200,000, where no donation receipts have been issued, will be donated to the turtle awareness and beaver programs in Barrie.
